Maitreya

Who he is

Maitreya's name in Sanskrit is Maitreya, meaning "the Loving One". In Tibetan he is called Jampa. He is a bodhisattva now and lives in Tushita. In the future he will be born in the human world and become a Buddha, so he is also called "Maitreya Buddha".

The Gelug school has a deep connection with Maitreya. The "Ganden" in the name of Ganden Monastery is the Tibetan word for Tushita, the very heaven where Maitreya lives. Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse houses a great gilded copper statue of Maitreya more than twenty meters tall.

What he does

He stands for loving-kindness, which is the wish "may everyone be happy". He also stands for hope: the Buddha's teachings will not die out, and another Buddha will appear in the future.

What people pray to him for

Traditionally, people pray to Maitreya for:

• Growing in loving-kindness and living in harmony with others
• Meeting the Buddha's teachings in every future life
• Confidence in the future, without losing heart

Mantra

What is usually recited in Tibetan Buddhism is the Dharani of the Noble Maitreya's Promise. A Chinese translation is found in the Sutra of the Dharani of the Bodhisattva Maitreya's Vow. It has three parts: the root mantra, the heart mantra, and the close heart mantra. Beginners can start with the last two:

Heart mantra: OṂ MOHI MOHI MAHĀ MOHI SVĀHĀ

Close heart mantra: OṂ MUNI MUNI SMARA SVĀHĀ

It is openly taught; anyone may recite it. These two can be recited as they are spelled. You can also recite his name: Namo Maitreya Bodhisattva.

Story: The bodhisattva Asanga and a dog

The Indian bodhisattva Asanga wanted to see Maitreya face to face. He practiced in retreat in a cave for twelve years and saw nothing. Disappointed, he came down the mountain.

On the road he saw an injured dog whose wound was crawling with maggots. He wanted to save the dog, but he could not bear to harm the maggots. So he closed his eyes and bent down, ready to move the maggots gently away with his tongue. When he opened his eyes again, the dog was gone, and Maitreya was standing in front of him.

Asanga asked: "I practiced for twelve years. Why did you not come?" Maitreya said: "I was beside you the whole time. It was your karmic obscurations that hid me from you. That one moment of true compassion just now cleared them away."

After that Maitreya took him to Tushita and passed on five treatises to him. These are the Five Treatises of Maitreya, which later became required study in Tibetan monasteries.

How to recognize him

• He is often shown seated on a chair-like throne with both legs hanging down: this shows he is ready to rise and come to the human world at any time
• Both hands at the chest in the gesture of turning the Dharma wheel
• Often a lotus at each shoulder, one holding a Dharma wheel and the other a water vase
• Often a small stupa in his crown
• The laughing, big-bellied Maitreya of China is a different form, which comes from the monk Budai of the Five Dynasties period